The barrier film applied in childhood on the molars helps to keep the future permanent dentition healthy as well
The dentist’s drill is a nightmare that anyone would like to avoid, even as a child. Nor is it the best solution against the hated tooth decay: an English survey published in the Journal of Dental Research has shown that to really defeat them you need to bet everything on prevention, because this is the only way they do not appear or return after an unpleasant first experience. To avoid them, according to the authors, they are needed proper oral hygieneessential for everyone even in early childhood, e the so-called “sealing”of great help in children most at risk.
The treatment
“It’s about applying a protective film on the surface grooves of the first permanent molarswhich are also the first permanent teeth to appear in the baby’s mouth – he explains Letizia Perrillo, president of the Italian Society of Orthodontics (SIDO) and professor of Dentistry at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli of Naples -. It is essential to keep them healthy because they are no longer changed, moreover they are born in the back of the mouth and are more complicated to clean, especially for babies; to make matters worse, they have a very furrowed surface and therefore food residues and then bacteria lurk more easily. With sealing, the risk of cavities in a molar is reduced by 80 percent compared to a procedure that is very simple and short, does not require a particular collaboration from the child, is not painful and does not need anesthesia ».
Children at risk of caries
The film creates a barrier that prevents bacteria from entering the tooth, in addition, the surface becomes smoother and easier to clean; what’s more, it is enough to seal it once, there is no need to go back to it. Does everyone have to do it? «It is not an obligation: it is certainly highly recommended in all children with a medium-high risk of caries, both for familiarity and lifestyle. It may not be necessary in those who do not have a predisposition to cavities and do not have habits that could favor them – replies Perrillo -. It must also be performed around 6-8 years of age, when the first molars erupt: with use, in fact, the teeth “erode” a little and the furrows smooth out, at ten or twelve years of age the sealing of the first molars is no longer needed ». At this age, permanent second molars can be treated; premolars can also be sealed, but this is not a frequent option.
Regular oral hygiene
However, as Perrillo points out, “it is forbidden to believe that once the sealing is done, then the caries is averted forever: the procedure is not an alternative to preventive measures, that is adequate oral hygiene three times a day after meals, attention to the diet avoiding the excess of sugars, the fluoroprophylaxis that strengthens the enamel ». Protecting children from caries is important not only on permanent teeth, because obviously in these cases the damage remains: even milk teeth must not be neglected because in addition to being essential for chewing in the first ten years of life, they are also a “guide ”For the eruption of the final teeth.
Milk teeth
“If a milk tooth is lost due to severe caries, in addition to the aesthetic damage, discomfort and expense associated with the treatment, the conditions are also created for the need for orthodontic therapy that brings the dentition back to normal: deciduous teeth (milk teeth, ed) serve to maintain the right space for the definitive ones, if they are weakened or missing due to caries, the whole mouth is affected », explains the dentist. Unfortunately, caries remain a very frequent problem in childhood, also because identifying them is not easy: at the beginning the only detectable trace is a loss of mineralization, visible as a small whiter lesion on the tooth. “Parents only notice it when there is a real hole, or if the cavity has gone so far as to cause pain when chewing that the child complains of, or an obvious swelling – says Perrillo -. In order not to go that far you need to pay close attention to the oral hygiene of the little ones, letting them use the toothbrush even for fun, and regular checks by the dentist are useful: the first visit, in which the risk of caries is also assessed, is recommended around two or three years».
March 3, 2022 (change March 3, 2022 | 19:11)
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